Together
by Pen and Paper71
Summary: Prompt driven drabbles based around the Phoenix/Iris pairing. T&T and some AJ spoilers. Updated with a Valentine's Day fic.
1. Rush

A/N- Written for a prompt thought up by a friend on the Court Records forum who dubbed this past week to be "Feenris week" (an abbreviation some people use for the Phoenix/Iris pairing). I have a couple more short stories written based on other prompts which will be posted once they have been proofed by the wonderful DahliaxKristoph (also a friend from Court Records and an excellent writer). Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not and will never own these characters. Since that is not going to change, this disclaimer will count for the whole story.

**Rush**

_Prompt: Adrenaline_

As the door to the roller coaster car closed, Phoenix Wright took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. He knew he shouldn't have been so nervous, considering he had just been on this ride with his daughter, but he had never been fond of roller coasters. Heights had always scared him, and adding speed to that only made things worse. Despite that, here he was again, but this time, accompanied by a different person.

Turning to his companion, he laid his hand on top of her own and smiled at her. "Are you ready for this, Iris?"

After a moment of hesitation, Iris nodded and smiled shyly, her face a little whiter then it had been at the start. "Yes, Feenie. This should be fun. I... I've never been on a roller coaster before."

Concerned by her reaction, Phoenix squeezed her hand gently. "... Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to, Iris. I can signal the attendant and we can get off if you'd prefer."

Even as he was making the offer, Iris started shaking her head. "Everyone seems to have so much fun on this ride. Besides, Trucy would be disappointed if I backed out now."

Phoenix nodded, knowing that this might well be true. Once he and Trucy had gotten off the ride, his daughter had insisted that he and Iris also go on the roller coaster together. Considering how excited Trucy had gotten when they had agreed to her suggestion, he couldn't help but wonder if, on some level, she was trying to further his and Iris' developing relationship.

"Still, I don't want you to do anything that you don't want to do, and neither does Trucy. She only wants what's best for you; she'll understand if we explain the situation."

Smiling shyly at him, Iris blushed a bit as she spoke. "I think this'll be fun... especially if I'm with you."

Phoenix could feel his own face redden at Iris' words, a rush of excitement running through him as she rested her head against his shoulder. Falling silent, Phoenix tried to quell his own fears quickly, determined to go through with this for Iris' sake. If she wanted to do this, then he wanted to be there with her.

Noticing Phoenix's own hesitation, Iris asked, "You want to do this too, right?"

"Of course," Phoenix responded quickly, forcing a strained smile as he turned his head to face her. As he stared deeply into her beautiful eyes, Phoenix found himself smiling more broadly, no longer needing to force it. The unease he'd been feeling fled as he answered whole-heartedly: "Anything for you, Rissy."

The roller coaster began to move after he said those words and as they reached the top of the first drop, Iris wrapped her arms around him tightly. As the roller coaster started down and Phoenix felt Iris pull herself even closer to him while laughing happily, a pleasant rush of adrenaline ran through him that had nothing to do with the ride.


	2. Cure

A/N- Another drabble I wrote for the past week. This does take place three years after 3-5 hence Iris might seem a bit more confident in this drabble (altough hopefully not to the point of being out of character) because she's had three years of being Trucy's mother and Phoenix's romantic partner to help her mature. Special thanks to DahliaxKristoph again for proofing this. Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

**Cure**

Prompt: Addiction

As Phoenix and Iris exited Trucy's bedroom, having just finished getting the eleven year old girl into bed, Iris smiled at Phoenix. She was just so happy to be standing there with the man of her dreams by her side and the little girl that she had come to think of as her own daughter sleeping just a short distance away. Softly closing the door behind them, she sighed contently.

Taking a step behind her, Phoenix slid his arms around her waste and kissed her neck tenderly. "So Mommy, what do you want to do now that our daughter is finally asleep?"

Iris giggled softly at the feel of his lips against her neck, blushing lightly at his touch. Pulling away from him for a moment, Iris put one finger to her lips and said: "Not here. We might wake Trucy."

Taking his hand gently, Iris led him down the hallway to the apartment's family room. Releasing his hand, she walked over to the couch and sat down, expecting him to follow, only to be surprised when he chose to go into the kitchen instead. Confused, Iris shot him a quizzical look and asked: "Feenie, where are you going?"

Hearing her question, Phoenix turned to meet her gaze for a moment as he opened the refrigerator. "I'll be right there, Rissy. I just want to get a bottle of grape juice before sitting down." Phoenix resumed his search as he spoke.

Groaning softly, Iris got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen. "You're clearly addicted to the stuff. It isn't healthy."

"There is nothing wrong with grape juice. It is a fine drink," Phoenix responded, his voice muffled as he leaned further inside to rummage through the back of the refrigerator.

"If I can taste it on your lips when we kiss, it's too much," Iris countered, her hands on her hips. "Please come out of there, so we can actually talk."

Sighing, Phoenix did as he was told. "Sure. We appear to be out of grape juice, anyway," he said, a clear ring of disappointment in his voice as he closed the door. Turning back to her, he smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, Rissy. Where were we?"

Taking a step forward, Iris tilted her head up and caught his lips in a long, tender kiss. When they finally parted, Iris smiled at him coyly, blushing a bit. "Better then grape juice?"

Unable to resist a short laugh, he responded: "Much. You know, I think you've found the perfect cure for my grape juice addiction." As he wrapped his arms around her gently and pulled her close, he leaned near her ear and whispered: "Because when I'm with you, I don't need anything else."


	3. Chemistry

A/N- Here's another prompt. Enjoy! Thanks to DahliaxKristoph yet again for proofing this. Let me know what you think.

**Chemistry**

Prompt: Chemistry- Yes, I'm really that uncreative with the title today. I could swear I had thought up a better title for this one, but I can't remember it anymore.

Nibbling on the end of her pencil, Iris reread the question on the paper in front of her yet again only to find herself no closer to understanding it then she had been a moment ago. Sighing heavily, she sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, her frustration building.

Iris' eyes flew open at the sound of the front door opening. Standing quickly, she walked to the door to greet the newcomer. He was dressed in a heavy sweats and had black spiky hair. As soon as her eyes fell on him standing there in the doorway, her frustrating fled to be replaced by joy.

"Feenie!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck as she stretched up to kiss his lips. "I'm so happy you're home."

Phoenix smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. After gently kissing her lips again, he responded: "I'm thrilled to see you too, Iris. I missed you."

As Phoenix moved a few loose strands of her long black hair away from her lovely face, his hand brushed against Iris' face, causing her cheeks to flush as a pleasant warmth spread through her. As they stood there in each other's arms, both of them could feel the sparks flying between them and were momentarily stunned by the power of this shared chemistry.

Phoenix was the first to break the silence that had fallen over them after giving her one last kiss. Glancing around the apartment, he gave Iris a quizzical look and asked, "So, how was Trucy tonight? I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"No trouble at all," Iris answered happily. "You know I love taking care of her. We had a lot of fun earlier; she went to bed pretty easily after I read her a few books."

Phoenix perked up again at hearing this news. His daughter could often be very difficult, but she and Iris had really hit it off right at the beginning, making things quite a bit easier. "You really are wonderful with her. I can never thank you enough for watching her for me when I go to work. This way I can do my job without having to worry about her."

"It's no problem at all," Iris respondied, forcing herself to smile despite the unease she felt at the mention of Phoenix's line of work. Although in her heart she had trouble dealing with the fact that Phoenix made a living through poker, she did understand that it was for the best and had managed to accept his decision even if she couldn't quite bring herself to like it. Falling silent, Iris carefully approached the other issue that had been bothering her. "I thought you might want to know that Trucy was upset tonight. You... promised to be back in time for her bedtime..." Iris's voice trailed off as her eyes darted to the ground.

Placing his fingers on the bottom of her chin, Phoenix gently lifted her head so that he could look into her dark, hauntingly beautiful eyes. He felt a wave of sadness when Iris continued to divert her gaze. "I'm sorry, Iris. I really am. I'll be more careful in the future. I'll have to remember to talk to Trucy tomorrow as well, so that I can make sure that she's okay."

After hesitating for a moment as she considered his words, Iris finally returned his steady gaze with one of her own. "Really?" she whispered, recalling the difficult period that had followed when Phoenix had first lost his badge. For several months, he became more and more distant until finally Iris had confronted him about his behavior, no longer able to take the pain that his attitude had caused for both herself and Trucy. After realizing his mistake, Phoenix had apologized vehemently and promised never to shut either of them out again. "I thought maybe..."

"Iris," Phoenix interrupted softly, but with a surprising amount of force. As if reading her mind, he continued, "I haven't forgotten my promise. This was a last minute thing. A customer came in not long before I was supposed to leave and wanted a match. Since he had already cleared it with the club owner and had paid up front, I had to go through with the match. I got out of there as soon as I could."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Iris's face brightened and a genuine smile crossed her face. Taking his hand, she started to pull him into the kitchen. "You must be starved. I saved some food from dinner for you. It'll just take a moment to warm." As Phoenix sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, Iris pulled the leftovers out of the refrigerator and started unwrapping them.

"Nonsense. I can manage to warm up my own food," Phoenix said with a laugh, walking over to the counter. "Go sit down. Is there anything you need?"

"No, Feenie," Iris responded. Glancing over at him, she asked, "Are you sure that you don't want me to do it? I really don't mind."

"I'm sure. Go sit down," Phoenix said firmly. As Iris went to sit down, he asked, "So what have you been up to since Trucy went to sleep. Anything exciting?"

Her eyes darting in the direction of where her books were sitting, Iris shook her head. "Nothing, really. I've been trying to get some my homework done."

"Oh really?" Phoenix asked, coming to sit down with her after he set the leftovers in the microwave and activated it. "Which class?" It had actually been at Phoenix's suggestion that she had returned to school and he'd been very supportive of her studying.

"Chemistry," Iris answered, making a face as she said it. "Probably my least favorite subject. I have absolutely no interest in it."

Chuckling softly, Phoenix reached over and gave Iris's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I was never much good at Chemistry either. Why don't you go get your books? We can try to struggle through it together."

Glancing over at him, she asked, "You don't mind?"

"Of course I don't."

After quickly hurrying to get her books, Iris laid them across the kitchen table while Phoenix started eating. After glancing over the questions and backtracking a bit in the book to refresh his memory on few forgotten points, he picked up the pencil Iris had brought with her. "I'll warn you ahead of time that I was an art student for a reason. I've never been much good at Chemistry, but everyone has to learn the basics to get through school and I do seem to remember some of this."

"I understand," Iris responded, smiling as she moved her chair next to him so that she could see better. "Thank you so much for helping me."

"It's no problem at all, Rissy," he smiled, kissing her cheek lightly which caused Iris to blush happily.

After a little more then an hour had passed, the pair had finally finished up the last problem. Sitting back with a sigh, Phoenix massaged his temples. "Well, that took us longer then I thought it would. My head hurts a bit."

Glancing at Phoenix worriedly, Iris covered her mouth lightly. "I'm sorry, Feenie. I shouldn't have mentioned anything..."

"I'm glad you mentioned it," Phoenix interrupted her. "You're always there for me when I need you and I'm happy to have the had the opportunity to help you. I love you, Rissy. That's a fact. If something is wrong, I want to be there to help."

At a loss of words, Iris leaned over and kissed him deeply. As Phoenix took her hand and led her into the bedroom, Iris felt a pleasant tingle run through her chest and she found herself smiling as she reconsidered her opinion of chemistry. Perhaps there was more to it then she had assumed.


	4. Enjoying the Moment

A/N- I'm a bit nervous about this one, but hopefully you guys will like it. Anyway, in honor of the holidays, this one is Christmas-themed. A special thank you goes to Franzise Deauxnim at the Court-Records forum for proofreading this for me. Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

Prompt: Time

Time was always something that seemed to be in short supply. As Phoenix helped Trucy and Iris decorate their Christmas tree, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret knowing that this moment could never last forever.

"Daddy! Daddy!" his ten-year old daughter cried excitedly, tugging on the sleeve of his sweatshirt to get his attention. She had insisted on wearing her pink magician's outfit that night despite her father's protests, telling him that she wanted to show off some of her new tricks and that a proper magician always needed to wear appropriate clothes if he or she was going to perform.

Surprised, he quickly forced his current train of thought from his mind and focused his attention on Trucy. Kneeling down beside her, he asked "What is it, Truc?"

"Look what I found. Isn't it pretty!" Trucy said, her eyes shining as she pulled a beautiful silver star from one of the boxes of old Christmas decorations. Although a light coat of dust covered the star, it was still possible to make out the lovely decorations adorning it. "Can we use it for the top of the tree?

"I don't see why not," Phoenix smiled at her as he inspected the old star and grabbed a cloth to clean it. The metal was in good shape even after all the years and it didn't take him long to make it shine again. With a quick glance over at Iris, who was dressed in a pretty black skirt, white shirt, and was hanging ornaments from another box on the tree, he quickly added, "As long as that's okay with Iris at least. I'll admit that I hadn't really planned for what we would put at the top of the tree." And yet another regret crossed his mind. He'd intended to buy all new Christmas decorations for this year, but he just hadn't been able to afford them. It had been a tough year all around and he had wanted to make this Christmas a particularly special one, but... well some things just don't work out the way you plan.

Iris's lyrical laugh interrupted his thoughts and brought him back to the present. "Of course I don't have a problem with that at all. In fact, I think that's a wonderful idea." Smiling brightly at Trucy, she asked, "Would you like to do the honors, sweetie? As long as it's okay with your Daddy, I think that it's only fitting that you put it on the tree."

Trucy instantly jumped to her feet, her face alight with excitement. Clapping her hands together happily, she said, "Can I, Daddy? Please!"

Phoenix put his hand over his mouth, to muffle his laughter, and pretended to be deep in thought. "Well..."

"Please, please, please, please!" Trucy begged, jumping up and down.

"I don't know, Truc..." Phoenix teased, his eyes twinkling as he spoke. There was never any doubt that he was going to let her put the star on the tree. He had never been very good at telling Trucy "no" and he couldn't see any harm in this as long as he spotted her while she did it. "Well... I suppose that's okay. I have to help though so that I know that you're safe."

"Okay! Thank you, Daddy!" Trucy cried, giving him a quick hug before rushing over to grab a nearby chair. With Phoenix watching her carefully, she placed the star right at the very top of the Christmas tree and then climbed down off the chair with a satisfied smile.

Suddenly, a beeping noise began coming from the kitchen which sent Iris running into the other room. "Cookies are done," she called from the kitchen after a couple moments. "Why don't you two come in and help me decorate them?"

With an ecstatic cry, Trucy bolted into the kitchen with Phoenix ambling in at a more controlled pace, pausing for a moment to kiss Iris's cheek before sitting down himself. Her face flushed lightly as he kissed her, her eyes shining happily.

As the three sat down at the kitchen table to decorate the cookies, Trucy asked, "So when are Aunt Maya and Pearl getting here?I thought they were supposed to be here already!"

"Patience, sweetie," Iris smiled at the young girl. "I spoke to Maya earlier today and she told me that they were both looking forward to spending Christmas all together. I believe her exact words were something like 'We'll be there even if we have to walk. Pearly agrees.'" A concerned look crossed her face for a moment. "She was kidding about having to walk, right? I mean... she didn't really mean..."

"I'm positive that Maya was joking," Phoenix reassured her quickly. "I checked the train schedule and the trains are still running. They won't be able to make it back to Kurain tonight, but I think that they wanted to spend the night anyway."

"Good," Iris responded with a relieved smile. "I-"

The doorbell rang suddenly, interrupting the rest of what Iris intended to say. Excusing himself, Phoenix made his way over to the door. As he opened it, he heard a familiar cry of "Nick!" before being wrapped in a hug.

"Hi, Maya," Phoenix laughed as he returned the hug quickly before untangling himself from his former assistant's sisterly embrace. "I'm glad to see that you made it in one piece. Trucy was actually just asking about you and Pearls."

At the mention of her name, Pearl came forward a bit, still standing a step behind her cousin. Like Maya, she was dressed in her normal outfit. "Hi, Mr. Nick."

"Hello, Pearls," Phoenix smiled, stepping forward to give her a quick hug as well. "You look well." As he straightened up again, he suggested. "Why don't you two come inside?"

"Right," Maya said cheerfully, grabbing the bag of presents that had been sitting by her feet and leading the way inside. "Trucy! Iris! Where are you?"

"Aunt Maya! Pearl!" Trucy cried as she ran to the door to greet them with Iris trailing. "I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too," Maya said with a laugh, capturing the young magician in a hug. At the same time, Pearl darted over to Iris to embrace her half-sister. "What have you three been up to?"

"Decorating the Christmas cookies that Mommy made," Trucy answered happily, grabbing the newcomers' hands and leading them towards the kitchen. "You guys can help now."

Glancing over at her older cousin, Maya smiled teasingly, "I hope they're tasty, Iris. I'll never forgive you if they aren't."

Iris frowned at that and stuttered, the worry clear in her voice, "I-I certainly tried. I hope that t-their okay."

Maya had forgotten that Iris could be a bit more sensitive to teasing than Phoenix or Trucy. Feeling a bit guilty for upsetting her cousin, she quickly responded, "Knowing you, I'm positive that they'll be great. Particularly if we have them before our burgers." This last line was said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Dessert is for after dinner," Phoenix corrected, with mock-sternness. "And while we're on the subject of burgers, I still can't figure out how you managed to convince me to make us that for Christmas dinner."

"Because hamburgers are the best food," Maya answered, sticking out her tongue playfully as she sat down at the kitchen table where Trucy and Pearl had already started working on the cookies again. Grabbing a tube of frosting, she added, "Alright, let's get to work. I'll bet we can make the prettiest Christmas cookies ever if we all set out minds to it."

Both Trucy and Pearl nodded at that and set to work with determination.

Phoenix laughed as he watched the girls work, the happiness he felt pushing away all those earlier regrets that he'd had as he walked up behind Iris and wrapped his arms around her. The laughter and joy that filled their home told him that this Christmas was as special as he could ever have hoped. And, he mused silently, even if this moment wouldn't last forever, he would enjoy the time they did have.


	5. Hearts

A/N- So anyway, here is a Valentine's Day oneshot. It's more then a little sappy, but most of what I write is pretty heavy on the sap. I hope that you guys like it. A special thank you to Jenna Darknight for being kind enough to put up with my bad writing and beta this fic for me. Let me know what you think.

Prompt: Paper

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"Mommy, how's this?" Trucy cried, proudly holding up her newly cut paper heart so that Iris could inspect it.

For the last hour, the two of them had been sitting at the kitchen table, making valentines for Trucy to give away at school the next day while dinner cooked. The school approved of having a small Valentine's Day ceremony for the children so long as all the kids received valentines from each other so that no one felt left out. It made for a great deal more work, but Iris certainly didn't mind doing it so long as it made the children happy. The joy reflected on Trucy's face made all this more than worth it.

"It's beautiful." Iris praised as she looked at the lopsided heart in her Trucy's hand, beaming happily at her daughter. Trucy had absolutely insisted on helping make all the valentines and, in Iris's eyes, none of the hearts that she had made, no matter how much cleaner they were, would ever compare to the rough looking ones that Trucy had cut.

"Really, Mommy?" Trucy asked, clearly pleased by the praise. As she picked up one of the hearts from Iris's pile and compared it to the one in her hand, a frown flickered across her face. "Why don't mine look like yours?"

"I've had a bit more experience at doing things like this, sweetie. I never needed to make valentines like you do because I was home schooled through my early education. However, Sister Bikini and I used to do various types of art projects when I was your age and they often involved cutting." With a reassuring smile, she added, "Mine were nowhere near as good as yours though. I stand by my statement that yours are beautiful and I'll bet Daddy will agree with me when he gets home."

As Iris's thoughts turned to Phoenix, she let out a soft sigh. He had been working with them at the start of this project, but a phone call had sent him running for the door with profuse apologies and promises that he would explain later. Although he had been better lately about including her and Trucy in his life, she hated the way he pushed himself so hard.

There was no doubt that the stress from his disbarment was finally starting to get to him and it worried her. She desperately wished that there were some way that she could help him, but all of the solutions that she was able to come up with were short-term relief at best. Iris wasn't even sure if they were doing anything for Valentine's Day. Although they had in the past, Phoenix seemed so much busier recently that Iris couldn't bring herself to mention the topic for fear of adding more stress to his already full load. There was little point in her making plans if he was simply going to have to break them anyway. All that would accomplish would be to make him feel guilty and Iris didn't wish to be the cause of more pain.

Lost in her own thoughts, Iris missed the sound of the front door opening until Trucy cried out excitedly and ran over to the door, throwing her arms around her father's neck.

"Feenie! You're home!" Iris greeted him happily, her eyes shining as she waited for her turn to hug him.

"Yeah, Rissy. I'm back. Sorry for running out like that earlier." Phoenix said sheepishly after releasing Trucy. Wrapping his arms around Iris, he pulled her close and kissed her forehead gently. "I shouldn't have to go anywhere else tonight."

"I'm certainly pleased to hear that." Iris answered. Lowering her voice so that Trucy couldn't overhear, she added, "And you'll fill me in later like you promised?"

Dropping his own voice to match Iris's volume, he answered, "I'll give you the long version when we're alone, but the short version is that I may have a lead."

Iris shot him a questioning look in response to that comment. She needed no explanation as to what the lead had to be about, as there was no doubt in her mind that the lead had to be about finding the truth surrounding his disbarment. However, she was curious what this lead could be and where it had come from. She was well aware that Phoenix hadn't been having much luck as of late.

Tilting up her head a bit, she pressed her lips to his and then gave him an encouraging smile. "That wonderful news, Feenie!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Iris could see Trucy fidgeting impatiently, trying hard not to interrupt them. With a soft laugh, she gave Phoenix one last kiss and released her grip on him, turning her attention back to the young girl.

Following Iris's lead, Phoenix also placed his focus back on his daughter. Iris could see the fond amusement in his eyes as he noticed her impatience. "I'm sorry, Trucy. I guess we got carried away. How are things going here? Did you get the cards done for school?"

"We almost have them all done." Trucy announced proudly, grabbing her father's hand and leading him into the kitchen. "See? I made these and Mommy made those over there." Trucy pointed at the two piles as she spoke. "I think Mommy's are the prettiest though."

"I think that Mommy's are very pretty." Phoenix agreed and then added with a smile, "But I think yours are perfect."

"Really?" Trucy asked, wide-eyed. "Mommy said that too, but…"

"Well, then it's a fact." Phoenix said with a laugh. "I'll help with the last few so that we can get these done quickly. Is your homework finished for tomorrow?"

Trucy nodded. "Yeah, I didn't have much, so I was able to finish it at school."

"Good. Then we can have some fun tonight." Phoenix grinned at Iris and Trucy. Iris matched his smile and nodded approvingly.

"Can we rent a movie?" Trucy asked hopefully, clapping her hands together.

"I think that sounds like a great idea, Trucy." Iris responded. "First let's finish up your valentines and have some dinner. Then we can walk down to the video store and pick up something."

"Sounds like a plan. If you're good, maybe we'll even let you pick the movie all on your own." Phoenix chuckled, winking at her.

"I'll be good!" Trucy chirped happily, sitting back down in front of the stack of paper valentines and getting back down to work.

As Phoenix joined Trucy at the table Iris walked over to the oven to check on their dinner and, seeing that it was done, she pulled it out.

The evening was wonderful. After dinner they rented _The Lion King_ and, after Trucy was securely tucked into bed, they talked. It had been months since they had last talked and connected like this. Despite a promise that he had made a while ago, Phoenix still had a tendency to be secretive, but tonight he held nothing back from her. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

After such a wonderful night, Iris was surprised to find herself waking up in his bed alone. Confusion filled her as she stood up and called for him, only to receive no answer. Although feeling a bit lonely and worried, Iris forced herself to get dressed. Unless Phoenix had already woken Trucy, which was doubtful due to the silence in house, then she had to get Trucy ready for school and then get settled to do some studying for her own classes.

Although college was rewarding, it was certainly very difficult and, even though she was fortunate enough to have the day off from classes, it never hurt to put in some extra preparation. There was just so much to do at times…

On top of her role as a student, she also worked very hard to be a good mother to Trucy, a supportive big sister and cousin to Pearl and Maya, as well as a lover and confidante to Phoenix. It was just so overwhelming at times and the thought of letting any of her loved ones down often left her feeling terribly uncertain.

Biting her lip gently and forcing her worries to the back of her mind, Iris walked down the hall to Trucy's room and she knocked gently, calling through the door to wake her up for school. She was making Trucy's lunch when the young girl came dancing into the room dressed in her school clothes, giggling.

Glancing up, she smiled lightly at her daughter, trying to hide her own unease. "It's good to see that you're so happy today. I'll bet you're excited about all of the cards you're going to get. Do you have all of your cards packed?"

"I packed them all, except this one," Trucy volunteered, holding out a crooked paper heart. "This one is for you."

Iris laughed happily, feeling a bit flattered. Although she was disappointed that her Feenie appeared to have forgotten what today was, it was nice to know that Trucy had remembered her. Giving her daughter a quick hug, she thanked her and took the card from her. Turning it over to see the writing, her eyes widened as she read the card.

"Daddy and I love you so much, Mommy. Daddy thought it might be fun to play a game, so we made a bunch of paper hearts with directions on them. Follow them and you'll find a nice surprise at the end."

The first instructions read that she should go to courthouse and talk to one of the bailiffs.

After giving Trucy another hug and packing her lunch in her backpack, the pair parted ways; Trucy heading off to school and Iris off to the courthouse.

Arriving at the courthouse, Iris walked right over to the bailiffs and questioned them. The first didn't know anything about any note but the second, a rather strange, thin man with a megaphone wrapped around his neck seemed to remember something after several moments of indecision and thought. Shuffling through his pocket he pulled out another paper heart. This one was also clearly made by Trucy with the sides badly uneven, but unlike the first, this one had Phoenix's handwriting on it.

"My dear Rissy. Do you remember how this place brought us together? How we stood here and learned the truth about everything, not only about what happened in the past, but this is also were we discovered that neither of our feelings had changed. It was here that we rediscovered one another and I will always remember this place fondly because of that.

P.S. I'm sorry that I had to leave you alone this morning, but I wanted to set this up and I knew that I could trust Trucy to start you on the right path. I think you'll like the surprise I have waiting for you."

Iris could her cheeks flush a bit as she read the note, smiling fondly at his sweet words. She remembered well the case that had brought them back together. The very last line instructed her to go to Hazukara Temple, so she quickly hurried off to catch the train.

Sister Bikini greeted Iris when she arrived at her former home. As she came in from the cold and sat down, Iris sighed softly and glanced around the familiar surroundings. There were so many memories here; some good and some bad but they were all a part of what made her the person she was.

Bikini came in and sat down a moment later, shoving a mug of hot chocolate into her hands. Iris smiled gratefully and thanked her before taking a sip.

"Sister…" she started to say hesitatingly. Unlike the first note, the second had left no instructions on how to find the next one, so Iris figured she should just try asking Bikini.

"Hush, Iris." Bikini smiled at her daughter. "This is what you want I assume?" Bikini handed over the next paper valentine.

"Yes, this is exactly what I was looking for, Sister. Thank you." Iris said eagerly, taking the note and giving the nun a quick hug. Turning over the note, she began to read. This note was also in Phoenix's handwriting.

"Hello again, darling. I hope that you're enjoying this. Don't worry, the next stop will be the last one. While you're here, do you remember how we met again? As we stared at each other in the Inner Temple, I found that I just couldn't take my eyes off you. It was as though some unknown force had pulled us there. Did you know that I almost didn't go that day? Had it not been for your picture in that magazine and the memories it evoked, we'd probably never have met again. I can't even imagine such a tragedy happening. Do you believe in fate, my love? After that day, I did. There are no words to explain how much I love you and how much you mean to me."

Iris wiped the tears from her eyes, the warmth in his words so clear as she read the note. "I love you too, Feenie." She whispered under her breath as she tucked the piece of paper into her pocket. She was supposed to go to a park at Ivy University that they had frequented when they dated in college.

After saying good-bye to Sister Bikini and promising to visit more often she made her way to the school.

Delight ran through her as she arrived at the park and saw Phoenix standing in the middle of the field, holding a single rose in his hand. Breaking into a run, Iris dashed over to him and threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Feenie." She whispered. "You haven't really been standing here all this time have you?"

"You don't have to worry, Rissy. I was waiting in that building over there and watching for you." He said, nodding at the school building that sat to the right of the field. "I saw you coming and ran out to meet you here." Holding out the rose to her, he smiled and added, "This is for you."

"W-Why?" was all that she could say as she stood by his side and took the rose from him, lifting it to her nose so that she could smell the flower's sweet scent. She couldn't imagine why anybody would go through all this trouble for her.

"Why not?" Phoenix teased gently, rewarded by a shy smile from Iris. After bending down to kiss the top of her head, he spoke again, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "With all you do for Trucy and me, you deserve more then I can ever give you. I know that things have been hard and that I'm not always the easiest person to live with…"

Iris opened her mouth to protest, but then fell silent again as Phoenix held up his hand. The look reflected in his eyes told her just how badly he wanted to get all this out, so she decided to let him finish before chiming in with her own thoughts.

Moving a bit closer to Iris, Phoenix wrapped his hand around her own. "I just wanted to give you one day that was completely devoted to showing you how much you mean to me. I know that it's not enough, but I still wanted to try." Pulling another paper heart from his pocket, he added, "Here. Read this. It'll hopefully explain things better then I'll ever be able to in person."

Taking the note from his hand, Iris glanced down at the words and began to read.

"Rissy, you are an incredible woman and I love you so much. I just wish that you could see what I see when I look at you. When I look at you, I see an intelligent, kind, and loving soul who wants nothing more then to see others happy even at her own expense. Do you remember all of the times that we came here? Even in the cold, you and I used to bundle up and walk around this very park. We'd then go back to my dorm and cuddle close until we were warm. With all the changes that have happened in our lives, one thing remains constant. You make me so happy and I can't imagine what I would do without you. I know that I'm not always there as much as I should be, but I'm trying to be better. More then anything else in the world, I want this to work. I love you, Rissy. No matter what, please don't forget that."

She could feel a couple of happy tears escape her moist eyes as she finished reading the note and her throat was all choked up. Meeting Phoenix's kind gaze, she threw her arms around him again. Who knew that the words written on a little slip of pink paper could bring such incredible joy?

"I love you." She whispered as he pulled her close, barely able to contain her joy.

"And I you." He responded softly, kissing her lips gently. "We should get going though. I figured that I'd let you pick this afternoon's events before we head out for dinner. I made reservations for dinner at the new restaurant that you mentioned wanting to try out and we shouldn't be late."

"That sounds like fun," Iris said, smiling brightly as they proceeded to make their way out of the park. "Who's going to watch Trucy though? Her school should be letting out soon."

"Maya's picking her up and taking her to spend the night at Kurain," Phoenix answered with a grin, squeezing her hand. "Today is just about you and me."

Suddenly, Iris felt Phoenix stop beside her and pull her into a gentle embrace. His soft lips touched her own and she felt a wave of pleasure shoot through her as she leaned against his strong chest. The warmth of his breath tickled her cheek as he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Happy Valentine's Day, Rissy."

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A/N Part 2- An author's note at the end? And here you guys all thought that I'd finally quieted down. Sorry, but I need to chat a bit more. This story was unconsciously influenced by an episode of _Family Guy_ called "Death Lives" (Unconsciously because I wasn't thinking about the episode while writing this and I only noticed the similarities when I was proofreading it, so yeah. -_- I thought "What can I do to make paper romantic?" and then I thought about making the paper hearts as Valentine's cards. Things went on from there. I almost tossed the whole thing, but I kind of liked the result, even with as silly as it is, and I just couldn't bring myself to delete it). Anyway, in the episode, Peter sends his wife on a scavenger hunt on their anniversary so that he can play golf. More happens in the episode, but the important part of this is the scavenger hunt since Phoenix does something similar with Iris, although for an entirely different reason and, unlike with Peter's notes, Phoenix's notes are more then "go from here to here" sort of thing. Anyway, the similarities were enough that I decided that it warranted a mention and add an extra disclaimer. I'm mentioning this at the end of the story because I didn't want to spoil why Phoenix wasn't in bed with Iris by telling you at the start, although you guys probably guessed. Okay, now I'm done talking. I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully it wasn't too horribly corny. Happy Valentine's Day! And please remember that reviews are always welcome.


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